Lost health, lost home, lost job - and no one to help

In 1993, Lee Burbidge was diagnosed with a rare cancer called musculoaponeurotic fibromatosis. Surgeons were unable to remove the whole tumour, so he had six weeks of radiotherapy, then two years of physiotherapy after nerve damage led to the loss of the use of his arm. Lee's wife, Lynn, left her job to become his carer and, six months after the operation, they lost the business they had set up together.

After a year, the Burbidges' mortgage payment protection insurance ran out and they were no longer able to keep up the repayments. Social services provided some financial help, but in 1998 the couple received a letter threatening repossession of their home.

The family sold their house in Billingham, County Durham, and became effectively homeless. Their two young sons went to live with Lynn's mother, while Lynn and Lee moved to London to work for the pub chain JD Wetherspoon as trainee managers. Their jobs came with a house and their sons moved in with them shortly afterwards.

In 2001, just as Lee and Lynn's lives were getting back on track, his tumour began to grow again. The family moved back up to Billingham to be closer to relatives. A second operation failed to remove the tumour completely due to its position in Lee's neck, and he was unable to work for another year. At the time the Burbidges were renting a house - they could not secure a mortgage because of the previous threat of repossession and the fact that Lee was still suffering from cancer. Potential employers also considered him to be a bad investment.

In 2003, the Burbidges set up their own light haulage business. But because of Lee's cancer and the couple's poor credit record, they had to buy a van for the business through Lee's mother.

The tumour began to grow again, and in January 2005 Lee started nine months of chemotherapy, as a result of which the couple have since lost their haulage business. They are both physically and psychologically unable to work. Lee is waiting to have his arm amputated.

The Burbidges are now in what Lynn describes as 'dire financial straits'. In 2005, they spent two months without any income while social services decided how much benefit they should receive. They are still paying for the van they used in their light haulage business, even though they have sold it.

'One of the things that absolutely incenses me is the issue of our rent,' says Lynn. 'We have to pay £100 a week, but the council has decided that we should only be paying £75. Therefore, the rest of our money comes from benefits. We are paying for the van out of benefit. We are paying our credit card bills out of benefit.'

The Burbidges now receive income support, disability living allowance and mobility allowance, but when Lee was first diagnosed they did not know what they were entitled to. When they first applied for disability living allowance, they were turned down, and started receiving it only when Lee's oncologist explained his situation.

Further financial pressure has come from extra costs associated with Lee's illness. When he was visiting hospital for treatment, Lynn found herself paying around £20 a week for hospital parking and fuel costs. They also faced prescription charges. In addition, the nausea caused by Lee's chemotherapy led to a sharp hike in the amount of money spent on food and washing powder. Their heating bills have also risen.

'You cannot understand the pain and tears that come from a situation like this unless you are actually in it,' says Lynn. 'Lee put on a stone from the chemotherapy but, because of all our debts, I couldn't even afford to go to Tesco and buy him a new pair of trousers for £3.'

In June 2005, when Lynn was visiting Lee in hospital, she began crying uncontrollably. She was put in contact with Deborah Robinson, a Macmillan social worker, who arranged for an occupational therapist to assess their home for improvements to make Lee's life easier. She arranged for a palliative care doctor to visit them and for a home help. The charity organised a holiday in Corfu and a local citizens advice bureau has also helped the Burbidges to reorganise their various debts into a £1 monthly payment.

Lynn is now helping to set up a group for patients' carers. 'We are lucky because our marriage is very strong,' she says, 'but other couples have broken up because of the pressures exerted upon them by their financial problems. I desperately do not want others to be in our situation.'